Great Olive Poisoning of 1919 - Part 6 - First Effects of the Olives

The First Effects of the Tainted Olives are Felt

William H. Morgan continues his story with descriptions of the first effects that were felt – double vision.

Sunday August 24th

Uncle John Sharer drove to our home Sunday morning to pick up Dad. The two of them were going mushroom picking. In those days mushrooms were much more plentiful in open fields and pastures than they are today. In late summer and early fall a basket could be filled in short order. We all picked and found many of them in our own yard. We were, however, careful to stick to the common field mushroom, known as the Agericus campestris. There are many other edible varieties, but unfortunately some of them bear a close resemblance to the very deadly Amanita family, so it is wise to use discretion. We also picked another type of fungus, which we knew as puffballs. They would often grow to a diameter of 5 to 6 inches and were delicious when picked fresh and sautéed. Uncle John was not familiar with them, but Dad insisted that they were edible, so Uncle John put some in his basket. The Sharers ate their mushrooms on Sunday. I do not know whether it was at noon or in the evening.

In the afternoon, Uncle John walked to my grandmother Sharer’s house, which was only a block away. My grandmother was very badly crippled with arthritis, and confined to her wheel chair.

Uncle John, sitting where he could look out of the window asked his mother whether there were two girls walking up Union Avenue. It seemed strange to him that they were dressed exactly alike and moved in unison. Grandmother assured him that there was only one, to which John replied that he had better have his eyes checked.

We later learned that Helen Gahris had played golf on that Sunday and had also experienced double vision. We learned too that Charlie Weybrecht had experienced double vision.

Tomorrow: The Similarities in the Symptoms Become Obvious

Part 7

Part 1 – Introduction

Part 2 – Who was Col. Weybrecht?

Part 3 – The party hostess: Helen Sebring Gahris

Part 4 – The dinner guests

Part 5 – The dinner party – August 23, 1919

Part 6 – The first effects of the tainted olives

Part 8 – Other members of the dinner party are contacted

Part 9 – The first information published in The Alliance Review

Part 10 – Jessie Sanford struggles

Part 11 – Funerals are held for the dead